social psychology on conformity

1. Conformity

2. Conformity
•First studied in 1932 by Jenness using a bottle of beans
•Type of social influence involving a change in attitudes,
beliefs and behaviour in order to fit in with a group
(Kiesler and Kiesler 1969)
• Change is in response to real (involving physical prescence of others) or imaginal
(involving the pressure on social norms/expectations) group pressure also known
as majority influence

4. Conformity
•“Conformity is not just acting as other people act, it
is being affected by how they act. It is acting
differently from the way you would act alone” –
David Myers (1999)

6. Conformity
• Indicate an agreement to the majority position
• Desire to “fit in” or be liked (normative)
• Desire to be correct (informational)
• Simply to conform to a social norm (identification)
• “yielding to group pressures” (Mann, 1969)
• An individual’s tendency to follow the unspoken rules or
behaviours of the social group to which one belongs

8. Conformity Key Studies
•Sherif’s Conformity and the Autokinetic Effect
Experiment (1935)
•Asch’sVisual Judgement Experiment (1951)
•Zimbardo’s Prison Stimulation Experiment (1971)

9. Sherif’s Conformity and the Autokinetic Effect Experiment (1935)
•The autokinetic effect: In this experiment, a single
point of light in a dark room seems to move. In the
experiment, the subjects are unable to keep their
eyes perfectly still and, in the dark, there is no point
of reference.

10. •Sherif conducted two versions of this experiment:
1. Individuals were asked to estimate how far they
thought the light moved, then tested them together in
a group. Estimates in the group converged as they
established a 'group norm'.This was close to the
average of estimates they gave individually.
2.A group was asked to give estimates of how far they
thought the light moved then they were asked to give
individual estimates, these were very close to the group
estimate.
•Sherif claimed he had shown conformity.The individuals
were experiencing informational social influence.

12. •Conclusion:
The results show that when in an ambiguous situation
(such as the autokinetic effect), a person will look to others
(who know more / better) for guidance (i.e. adopt the
group norm). They want to do the right thing but may lack
the appropriate information. Observing others can provide
this information. This is known as informational
conformity.

13. Asch’s Visual Judgement Experiment (1951)
•He showed just how easy it is to influence someone into
saying something blatantly wrong!
•Asch showed a group of people a series of cards
•Each test had only one innocent subject, the others in each
group were stooges/confederates. When he gave the
stooges a secret signal they all gave a
predetermined incorrect answer.

15. • The results:
• 74% of the innocent participants went along with the group
and conformed, giving the incorrect answer at least once.
• If you count all the trials carried out, 34% showed
conformity.
• Asch went on to test out different conditions on levels of
conformity using the same set up. His method became known
as the Asch paradigm.

16. • Asch found that three different kinds of reactions had contributed to the
conformity:
• 1. Distortion of perception. A number of subjects said they were not aware
their estimates had been distorted by the majority.They came to see the
rigged majority estimates as correct.
• 2. Distortion of judgment. Most of the subjects who yielded to the majority
concluded their own perceptions were inaccurate. Lacking confidence in
their own observations, they reported not what they saw but what they felt
must be correct.
• 3. Distortion of action. A number of subjects admitted that they had not
reported what they had in fact seen.They said they had yielded so as not to
appear different or stupid in the eyes of other group members.

17. •Asch concluded that various factors can affect the level
of conformity:
1.Just one stooge not going along is enough to
dramatically reduce conformity levels.
2.Difficult tasks tend to lead to more conformity.

18. 3. Men may try to appear more independent because of
social expectations.
4.Women tend to show more conformity than men do
when their answers are said out loud, publicly.
5. Low self-esteem may lead to higher conformity.This
reflects low self-confidence or strong need for approval of
others.
6.Conformity rates are higher when people are attracted
to other members of the group.

19. Zimbardo’s Prison Stimulation Experiment (1971)
• This experiment was designed to show conformity to social
roles, this is an example of normative influence. Volunteers were
given authority and asked to act as guards over other volunteers
who were prisoners.
• Aim: to see the psychological effects of making 'normal', 'good'
people into prisoners or guards.
• Volunteers: 24 middle class, male college students, mentally
sound in tests and no criminal records, were paid $15 per day and
divided into prisoners or guards by the flip of a coin.

21. • Procedure: Prisoners were arrested at their homes at the start of
the study, blindfolded and taken to Stanford University
Psychology Department basement, which had been converted
into a realistic prison! From then on the volunteers were treated
as prisoners by the other volunteers who were guards.
• End of the study:The study was stopped after six days because
the guards became sadistic and the prisoners became extremely
stressed.

22. TwoTypes of Conformity
1.Informational Conformity
2.Normative Conformity

23. 1. Informational Conformity
• happens when a person lacks knowledge and looks to the group
for information and direction.
• In situations where we are unsure of the correct response, we
often look to others who are better informed and more
knowledgeable and use their lead as a guide for our own
behaviors

24. 2. Normative conformity
• involves changing one's behavior in order to fit in with the group.
• stems from a desire to avoid punishments (such as going along
with the rules in class even though you don't agree with them)
and gain rewards (such as behaving in a certain way in order to
get people to like you).

25. Normative Conformity Informational Conformity
Yielding to group pressure because a
person wants to fit in with the group.
E.g.Asch Line Study.
Conforming because the person is
scared of being rejected by the group.
This type of conformity usually involves
compliance – where a person publicly
accepts the views of a group but
privately rejects them.
This usually occurs when a person
lacks knowledge and looks to the
group for guidance.
Or when a person is in an ambiguous
(i.e. unclear) situation and socially
compares their behavior with the
group. E.g. Sherif Study.
This type of conformity usually
involves internalization – where a
person accepts the views of the
groups and adopts them as an
individual.

26. • Man (1969) identified three types of conformity:
Normative, informational and Ingratiational.
• Kelman (1958) distinguished between three different types of
conformity: Compliance, Internalization and Identification.

27. Compliance Internalization
Publicly changing behavior to fit in with the
group while privately disagreeing.
In other words, conforming to the majority
(publicly), in spite of not really agreeing with
them (privately).
This is seen in Asch’s line experiment.
Publicly changing behavior to fit in with
the group and also agreeing with them
privately.
This is seen in Sherif’s autokinetic
experiment.
IngratiationalConformity Identification
Where a person conforms to impress or gain
favor/acceptance from other people.
It is similar to normative influence but is
motivated by the need for social rewards
rather than the threat of rejection, i.e., group
pressure does not enter the decision to
conform.
Conforming to the expectations of a
social role.
Similar to compliance, there does not
have to be a change in private opinion.
A good example is Zimbardo's Prison
Study.